[autotag]Tom Aspinall[/autotag] doesn’t plan to keep defending his UFC interim title.
Aspinall (14-3 MMA, 7-1 UFC) was hoping to unify his belt with heavyweight champion Jon Jones, but he’ll have to wait until Jones defends his belt against Stipe Miocic first.
In the meantime, Aspinall defends his interim title in a rematch against [autotag]Curtis Blaydes[/autotag] (18-4 MMA, 13-4 UFC) in the UFC 304 (pay-per-view, ESPN, ESPN+) co-main event July 27 at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
Aspinall’s lone UFC loss came to Blaydes by TKO in July 2022, where he blew out his knee just 15 seconds into the fight.
“My confidence has grown loads since then,” Aspinall told talkSPORT MMA. “Just everything’s better. I’m a new version of myself than I was when I fought (Blaydes) last time, and he’s improved, as well, so whole new fight this time.”
Aspinall won’t hold his breath when it comes to fighting Jones (27-1 MMA, 21-1 UFC). All he knows is that if he gets past Blaydes, he will only fight for the undisputed title next. Jones and Miocic (20-4 MMA, 14-4 UFC) are expected to fight Nov. 9 in New York.
“I’m over it at this point,” Aspinall said of Jones. “I’m fighting Curtis Blaydes. It’s a tough fight and I’m preparing for Curtis, so Jon Jones and all the rest of the politics are pretty irrelevant to me right now. (I’m) focused on him and nothing else. … If I win this one, which I believe I will, the next fight has to be for undisputed (title) – definitely. I’ll wait it out if I have to after this one. But for right now, that doesn’t exist.”
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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 304.